Splinters

A splinter is a thin piece of material (eg, wood, glass or metal) that gets stuck just under the top layer of your skin – usually in your finger, foot or hand.

Image credit: Canva

Splinters themselves aren’t usually dangerous, but they can become infected if they’re not removed quickly.

Most splinters can be taken out easily at home. However, you should see your healthcare provider if your, or your child’s splinter is:

• deep
• in or near an eye
• looks infected.

When your bare skin comes into contact with a small sliver of material (eg, a wood, glass or metal splinter) it can be embedded under your skin.

For example, you might grab onto an old wooden handrail at a park and a piece of wood breaks off and pierces your skin. Or you might walk barefoot over some broken glass in the kitchen and suddenly feel a shooting pain when it embeds itself into your skin.

Sometimes you might not be sure how you got the splinter, but you notice it when you feel the pain or see the splinter poking out from, or under, your skin.

If you get a splinter, you may:

• see a small speck or line under the skin, usually on your hand or foot
• have a feeling that something is stuck under your skin
• have pain at the entry site
• have redness, swelling, warmth or pus around the site if it becomes infected.

Video: How to remove a splinter

(American Academy of Dermatology, US, 2016)

If you have a tiny splinter that doesn't hurt, you can let it work its way out over the next few days.

Otherwise, most splinters are easy to remove yourself using tweezers or a needle.

1. Wash your hands and the affected area with soap and water before removing the splinter. Gently pat your skin dry.

2. Sit in a place with strong lighting. If the splinter is small, you can use a magnifying glass to help you see which direction it entered the skin.

3. If part of the splinter is sticking out, use tweezers to gently pull it out.

• First, disinfect the tweezers. You can use rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol, available from your pharmacy or hardware shop). Or hold the tips in a flame until they turn red (wipe the tips with a clean cotton ball to get rid of any soot) or boil them in water for 30 minutes then let them cool.
• Use the tweezers to pull out the splinter at the same angle that it went into the skin. Pull slowly so the splinter doesn’t break.
• If the splinter is straight and firm (eg, glass or wood) gently pressing the other end can help to lift the exposed end. Then you can grab it with your tweezers.
• Don’t squeeze out the splinter as it may break into smaller bits that are harder to remove, or it may be pushed further below the surface of your skin.

4. If the whole splinter is stuck under your skin you can use a small pin or needle, such as a sewing needle, to get it out.

• Numbing the area with ice wrapped in a thin cloth before using the needle may help reduce any discomfort.
• Before you start, disinfect the needle and a pair of tweezers as in step 3 above.
• Use the needle to gently remove the skin over one end of the splinter, and then to carefully push out part of the splinter.
• When one end of the splinter is sticking out, use the tweezers to gently pull it out.

5. When the splinter is out, clean the area with soap and water, pat it dry (don’t rub it) and apply petroleum jelly or antiseptic ointment if you have some. Cover the area with a plaster until it heals.

Sticky tape

Apply strong sticky tape, eg, duct tape, to the splinter area. Wait for 30 minutes then pull the tape off in the opposite direction to the way the splinter went in. The splinter may come out when you pull the tape off.

Glue

Pour a little white PVA glue over the area and wait for it to dry. Then you can peel it off in the opposite direction to the way the splinter went in and the splinter may come out with it.

For deeper splinters

Ichthammol ointment – put a small amount of ointment (eg, Egoderm ointment) over the affected area and cover it with a bandaid. The ointment softens the skin around the splinter after about 24 hours. You may then be able to remove the splinter with tweezers. You can buy ichthammol ointment from most pharmacies without a prescription.

Splinters can be quite difficult for tamariki and may cause them to become very upset.

If your child has a small splinter but won’t let you get it out, soaking in the bath at bath time over the next few days may loosen the skin around the splinter and allow it to work itself out. Note: this may not work for a wood splinter, as soaking may cause the wood splinter to swell.

If you're using tweezers or a needle to remove a splinter from a child, it might be easiest to sit them on your lap or have another adult hold and comfort them.

Distraction might help, try letting them cuddle a toy, watch a favourite programme or listen to music while you remove the splinter.

If the sight of needles or tweezers frightens your child, you can try some of the other ways to remove a splinter listed above.

See your healthcare provider if the splinter:

• won’t come out
• is very large
• is stuck deep in the skin
• is in or near an eye
• is under a toenail or fingernail
• is bleeding a lot
• becomes infected – you may notice warmth, redness, swelling or pus at the site.

You may also need to see your healthcare provider if your, or your child’s, tetanus vaccinations are not up to date.

If you have a small splinter that’s close to the surface of your skin and isn’t causing any pain, you don’t necessarily have to remove it. It will usually come out by itself because your skin naturally sheds over time.

However, if there are signs of infection, you should contact your healthcare provider to remove the splinter and treat the infection.

Splinters made of wood, thorns, spines and other plant-related foreign objects are most likely to cause infection, and should be removed as soon as possible. Glass, metal and plastic splinters are less likely to result in infection.

It may be that you need a tetanus booster vaccination – especially if you haven’t had one in more than 10 years. Tetanus is a bacterial infection that can be introduced into the body by a foreign object (including a splinter), and it may be fatal if not treated. Ask you healthcare provider if you should have a tetanus booster, or if your child’s tetanus vaccinations aren’t up to date. Read more about tetanus and the tetanus vaccine.

There are several ways you can help protect yourself, and your tamariki, from getting splinters.

• Wear shoes if you’re walking over a rough wooden deck, boardwalk or dock, and when wading in water.
• Put on slippers or shoes if there’s broken glass on the floor, until the area has been thoroughly swept or vacuumed. Using a wet paper towel to wipe the area is also good for picking up extra bits of glass, but make sure you don’t get a glass splinter in your hand.
• Wear gloves and protective eyewear if you’re working with glass, metal or wood, and wear gloves when gardening.